Graham Coxon - Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery (Parlophone)
UK release date: 3 May 2004
What a treat. Not only do I get to review a single by one of my all-time favourite guitar heroes, but it's something really worth shouting about. Coxon doesn't always hit the mark - in fact his solo work to date has been decidedly patchy - but this one's a corker. Opening with a riff pretty much lifted wholesale from Coffee And TV it then turns into a wry little pop song about his love-hate relationship problems.
Proving that he's not just that guitarist out of Blur, Coxon employs some witty couplets which manage to rhyme "belly" with "telly" (as in telecaster) and "happily ever after" with "dafter". Yet still, the guitar solo in the full version is classic Coxon (although admittedly, not quite as good as the one in Coffee And TV).
There have already been comments in the press that Coxon has returned to the sound of his old band, and despite his protestations, it's true - there are even times when Coxon's voice sounds spookily like Damon Albarn. But it's no bad thing. If, like me, you've foregone Think Tank and hanker after the Blur sound of old, here is something to feed your senses. I, for one, am loving it.
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